It's April and whether you're starting your summer job search, about to graduate and looking for your first grown-up job (congrats on being almost a graduate, by the way!), or just continuing the search, job hunting can be a stressful time. As someone on the hunt, I happened across some pretty interesting sites. Here are some places to check out:
1. Student Language Bureau.
My first interesting site. Do you keep regurgitating your study/travel/live abroad experience(s) that you loved so much, or telling people how much you want to travel? (I answer 'yes' to both.) Are you seriously considering living abroad either temporarily or permanently? The Student Language Bureau is an organization that connects recent graduates, gap year students, or students looking for a summer internship with companies abroad. They originally served UK students, but their reach seems expanded and anyone can join their platform for free.
2. Service positions.
Americorps as a whole, City Year, Urban Teachers, Service Year and Teach For America are potentially things you haven't thought of joining. But, with the possibility for short contracts, service, decent pay, and being at a qualifying Public Service Loan Forgiveness organization, it might be worth looking into to. And if you're 25 and have a couple of years of experience, you can apply to be a UN Volunteer (they get living stipends). For those who seek challenge abroad, Peace Corps is always an option, of course.
3. USAJOBS.
The government has positions in almost everything - from administrative assistant positions to speech writing positions. While some may feel apprehensive of these positions, it's something to keep in mind (you'd also definitely be working for a PSLF qualifier with oftentimes pretty good benefits). They do also have positions abroad.
4. LinkedIn Alerts.
Okay so, maybe I just have been slow to explore the vast coolness of LinkedIn. But, umm...have you seen their job alerts?? They're so detailed and good. In your settings, you can turn on a function that lets employers on LinkedIn know you're searching for a job. You can put in field criteria and LinkedIn will send you emails with lists of jobs that are pretty relevant. It's ten times better than the Google Job Alerts I signed up for so long ago. Indeed also has a pretty good job alert system.
5. Other people.
This one might be obvious, but there are people around you that you can reach out to. My graduate cohort posts all sorts of amazing opportunities on our Facebook page. Get in touch with friends that you know are looking to leave their jobs and ask them to put a good word in. Schedule an informational interview with a professional in your dream job. You'd be surprised what can happen on an informational interview (always keep in touch).
While some of these cool organizations are tell-tale signs that I'm looking for jobs abroad (I am in international education, after all), they can be helpful for people contemplating next steps. If you're not sure what to do and want some cool experiences, these might be for you. Good luck, job hunters! Just keep swimming!
